


Suffer the Little Children

by idrilhadhafang



Series: The Broken Edge [5]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Aftermath - Chuck Wendig
Genre: Age Progression, Child manipulation, Dark, Emotional Manipulation, Evil Snoke, Gen, Snoke Being a Dick, You Have Been Warned, we're entering some dark territory folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-10-24 09:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10739109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: The evolution of Snoke's manipulation of Ben over the years.





	Suffer the Little Children

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Mind Games
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author's Notes: Inspired by a little mention on Tumblr about Snoke targeting Ben in utero because they apparently thought Snoke wasn't creepy enough. I thought I'd try and explore how that fits in with my own version of Snoke.

 

_In utero:_

 

The matter of finding the right child for the task is difficult. Snoke has always envisioned the child with the perfect blend of Light and Dark within them. A child who can be as powerful in both sides as one can be in either the Light or the Dark. Snoke knows that beings like Palpatine wouldn't bother coming up with a candidate with potential for both sides in the Force -- after all, they would simply look for someone powerful in the Force and leave it at that. But Snoke is not Palpatine. 

 

Snoke is the man who will make everything truly right. Finish what should have been finished long ago. Not just for Milara, but for the galaxy at large. 

 

The Light Side is strong with this child. He is not merely a lifeform growing in the womb, but a whole beacon of light, all but blinding Snoke momentarily. He reaches out, finds the vein of darkness in that child, a vein that snakes through. The lifeform, the little one, kicks and tumbles; he is afraid. He won't be. Snoke will show him, make him understand. 

 

_One year old:_

 

The boy is a curious little thing, happy, innocent -- one would never guess he has a cord of darkness in him. Even as Snoke touches his mind, he babbles things that Snoke can only assume are just another language for babies, before they learn their native tongues. Snoke knows it is good that he's cloaked his Force signature; if he approached the boy in all his Dark Side glory, he would be afraid, and it would not be entirely unwarranted. Babies are such easily scared creatures, Snoke thinks, and they don't have a concept of ren or doing what others do for the good of the galaxy. They just know primal emotions, things such as hunger, fear. 

 

_Three years old:_

 

Snoke isn't going to deny that he is indeed envious of how simply easy Ben has it. Growing up in an environment of safety, growing up with friends to boot, good friends that he could play with...even in the happier times before the bombings, Aldric of Milara never felt quite safe. He had never truly felt safe to be a child. It wasn't that his parents were cruel -- indeed, they were kind to him -- but there was always the matter of the bombings. Always the matter of Venkar, who had hung like a great shadow above his childhood. Ben...Ben has it -- 

 

Even as Ben runs about, giggling and playing with Poe Dameron, pretending they're X-wing pilots out on an adventure, Snoke has to bite back a moment of jealousy. That is not the way of the Dark Side. That is not the way of ren. Aldric of Milara is dead and deserves to be dead. 

 

Later, he shows Ben tricks he can use -- innocuous-looking ones at first; he doesn't want to blow his cover too soon. Tricks that he can show off to Poe Dameron, tricks that he can use to impress the older boy and make him marvel, all while Leia Organa-Solo looks on in the background, disapproving, watchful, a quiet barrier between them. 

 

_Four years old:_

 

He’s gained Ben’s liking for him. That is a plus. Blending into the Jedi Academy will be difficult without a doubt, especially considering that it is like a particularly unpleasant return home, but it is a necessity. The good news is that it won’t be entirely difficult. If Revan could infiltrate the Sith Academy as a Jedi (and what a weak, disappointing thing redeemed Revan was, like a shell of the former Milaran warrior), why can’t he, as a Dark Sider if not a Sith?

 

Of course, petty labels don’t sum up Snoke’s mission. He is a servant of balance and ren and Milara, no more, no less. The Jedi don’t like what they can’t slap petty labels on, however. They will call him a monster, because a monster is what they want him to be. But in the end, he loves the galaxy more than any Jedi could. 

 

 

 

_Ten years old:_

 

When Jaina is born, Snoke is more than pleased -- here is yet another candidate for training. Like Ben, she is strong in both the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force, truly a being to be reckoned with. Perhaps he can have both Jaina and Ben, train them both in the ways of the Force, as opposed to the limited view that Skywalker would inevitably give them. 

 

_Eleven years old:_

 

So it is that Snoke decides to participate in, in a way, training them both. He's not too intrusive, nothing that will blow his cover, not really. But just enough to show Ben things like how to get the upper hand on Jimmy Nichos, and teaching Jaina things that delight the little girl. And Snoke cannot help but be proud of them both. When Ben ultimately humiliates Jimmy Nichos in a duel or Jaina mimicks a trick perfectly, he cannot help but feel a certain amount of pride in them both. He has never met students with such promise, such power, before them. 

 

_Fifteen years old:_

 

He's lost his chance at training young Jaina Skywalker. But he hasn't lost his chance at training Ben. Ben, who is still searching for his younger cousin in the databases even though they've deleted all knowledge of Jaina Skywalker -- the junglecats indeed eat their young. Or they abandon them, in this case, try and pretend they never existed. Ben's determination is something to behold in terms of searching for her. Snoke will have to search for her as well, assuming he knows where she is. 

 

_Twenty years old:_

 

Thomas Delgado is dead. Ben blames himself for not being quick enough, though of course, even if he were a Master he would have had at least some difficulty against Lisaris. If there is a benefit to Thomas Delgado’s death, it’s that it places Ben good as in Snoke’s hands. Everything serves the will of ren in the end. The will of the Force as well. Ben will do anything to make sure he doesn’t fail again, even if it means delving into powers he was told to refuse...

_Twenty-three years old:_

 

Ben is his now. Or rather, Kylo Ren is his now. 

 

It took a substantial amount of difficulty, including Ben nearly betraying him

 

_and that Snoke will have to set up some special precautions in regards to_

 

but in the end, Kylo Ren is very much his. His, as he was meant to be from the start. His apprentice, his student, his scion. The First Order is becoming an organization to be reckoned with, and Snoke’s hopes are coming to fruition. 

 

Even looking over Milara, Snoke allows himself a genuine smile. A smile because he was right and Yoda was ultimately wrong. His First Order is coming to fruition, and right now, Snoke doubts he could be prouder. 

 

The galaxy is his now. And from there...from there he can remold it in his image, as it was meant to be. 


End file.
